Log 101; Day 277; Feb. 22, 2009; Marathon, FL.

This is Dockside Lounge...just down from where our boat is parked

Here is a shot from insie of Dockside Lounge...great spot, but not much personality for a place like this.

This is Frosty's...where we had lunch on Saturday. The view behind us is looking due west. The 7 mile bridge is just to the right and behind the island you see.

BK heading out to fish

This is the 7 mile bridge where I'm heading out to fish this morning.

Log 101
Day 277
Sunday, February 22, 2009

7:30 AM EST
Location: Sombrero Resort and Marina, Marathon, FL.
Weather: 66 with light NE winds...heading for 76 today.

Here’s what’s been happening the last few days.

Thursday...another beautiful day. Light winds and bright sun. Because it was so nice I decided to jump on the bike and ride to West Marine...which I assumed to be a 2 to 3 mile ride. Turns out I was right, but the ride did not seem so bad. It was one of the worst kept West Marines I have seen. Just the opposite of Key West’s store, which was immaculate. I have been looking at the cost of batteries for the boat. Since the boat was new I have only replaced the 2 house batteries, and I have been going back and forth on whether to replace the other ones (5 more), so we don’t have a problem. On one hand, there is no better time to do it, then when I have the time, and we are in a place where they are readily accessible. On the other...they are expensive, and at this point everything is running great, so why replace them? So far I have done a lot of thinking, and looking, but no buying.

After a long ride, and then back at the boat, Deb and I decided to walk down to the marina just south of us (Sombrero Marina) and try to have lunch again at Dockside. You may remember we tried to do this, on the dinghy, a few days ago, but ended up walking out. Well this time I said we would eat what ever they have, and then give it a rating. Turns out it was great. Deb had fish fingers...I had a hot dog with fries...excellent. As much as we love dockside type restaurants...this one still has not sold us. It really has no atmosphere. Deb said “it’s like eating in a tent”...and she’s right.

Back at the boat, I jumped on the bike and headed to home depot to get something for a project I was working on, and Deb jumped on her bike to do some exploring. On the way back from home depot, I stopped in where they were working on the dinghy, to see how things were going. The mechanic was just getting ready to fire up the engine and set the carburetors (it has 3 of them). He attached a vacuum gauge to each one, to set them exactly perfect, and it ran great. It turned out that I had two issues. First of all there was a lot of dirt in the carburetors, so he cleaned them, and secondly they were not adjusted just right. So after 4 hours of labor (at $110 each) it now runs just fine again. So, I took my folding bike and put in the front of the dinghy, they put it in the water, and I headed back to the boat. While doing so I called Deb to see if she wanted to take a dinghy ride to test it out...I knew she would...so we took a couple hour ride, and ended up finding a great margarita and pina colata at Frosty’s at Marathon Marina...we’ll be back there. Back at the boat Deb made a great salad for dinner, and we watch 2 episodes of American Idol for the movie. Another great day.

Friday...bright and sunny, but windy. In the morning Deb read for a while and then cleaned the inside of the boat. I took the dinghy and went out to Burdines and got 2 dozen live shrimp, and a shrimp bucket (to keep them alive) and went back in sister creek to go fishing. I left about 8:30, so I told Deb I’d be back for lunch, but I was enjoying myself so much I didn’t make it back to the boat until almost 1, and if I had packed a lunch I certainly would have stayed longer. Using the live shrimp the fishing certainly was better. Way back in the coves I was getting a lot of bites, but could not hook up on anything. I was watching several big fish sort of “roll over” on the surface, so I knew the big ones were there. But after an hour or so of small bites I went further out of the cove and set the anchor to try again. This time I put a shrimp on one line, and put a jig on another and started casting across the water. 2nd cast I had a huge hit, and it took at least 5 minutes (seemed like 20) to bring in a big fish (I think it was a Jack Cravelle). It was a great fighter, and I was laughing the entire time. I also caught a couple of snapper on the live shrimp. Very cool. In the afternoon, Deb took the bike to the store (she loves that she can load up the basket) and I worked on a project to install new water filters, and a better “set up” for arranging the filters on the dock. Dinner was egg rolls and fried rice...the movie was a recorded episode of Lie to Me, and Trust Me.

Saturday...the days are getting longer...sunrise is now 6:54 and sunset is almost 7. Deb and I decided to take a dinghy ride and find some lunch, but before that I went fishing for an hour...caught a couple of snapper. It was a little windy, but the dingy ride was dry, and we headed all the way out of Boot Key to Frosty’s, which is located at Marathon Marina. The menu says “the best cheeseburgers in the Key’s”...not as far as we were concerned. Good flavor, but way over cooked. Maybe the chef was having a bad day? After lunch, we kept going west out of the harbor towards the 7 mile bridge. I wanted to see what a wind like we were having would do to the waves, so I would have a reference for fishing. It was great going out...but coming back we had to go very slow to keep from getting wet. I’ll keep that in mind when I head out next time. From the entrance of the harbor to our boat is about a 30 minute dinghy ride...and we enjoyed every minute of it...getting back about 2 pm. Deb had planned to do some laundry, but saw her book sitting there (she’s reading Chesapeake) and decided that would be a better way to spend the afternoon. I watched some of the NASCAR racing from California, and did a lot of nothing. For dinner we had beef spare ribs that Deb had been cooking in the crock pot all day (awesome) and we actually watched a real movie. It was Bee Season with Richard Gere...Deb found the DVD in the bargain bin for $4...if you haven’t seen it...you’re better off.

Today...Sunday...after I finish this log, and have some breakfast, I’m heading out to the 7 mile bridge (about a 40 minute run in the dinghy) and try to catch some fish. They say that is were the big fish are...as they wait for the tides to come through from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean...and back. We’ll see.

I’ll keep you posted.

Bob